Learning Through Play
Children ages birth to three years learns differently than older children. Young children tend to learn through their senses of tasting, touching, hearing, seeing, and smelling more so than from adult instruction or preschool worksheets.
Children build meaning or develop intellectually by processing experiences that help to develop important brain connections while exploring and handling real objects. Meaningful real-life experiences, loving care, and positive interactions will help your baby learn more at this stage in childhood.
While chewing on rattles, manipulating blocks, and interacting with games like “Peek-a-Boo” seem like playtime to adults, it’s helping your baby and toddler learn through play. Children are learning through hands-on, concrete, real-world sensory experiences, and interactions in their environment, which is more like “work” than “play” from your child’s perspective.
Learning through play is quite normal for children from birth to age eight. This concept has been discussed in more detail by noted child psychologist Jean Piaget, “Play is the work of the child.”
Parents Are a Child’s First Play Partner
First and foremost, children need a play partner, and that would be you: the parent and the child’s first teacher! Research shows that parents who play with their children using meaningful, caring interactions have brighter, more successful children. Don’t expect your child to always “play” by him/herself.
With infants, parents can play games like “Peek-a-Boo,” “Where’s Baby?,” “Show Me Your Nose,” and “Tummy Raspberries.” Toddlers enjoy building blocks, dumping and filling activities, and beginning pretend episodes like cooking and baby doll play. Older toddlers like chase games, more sophisticated pretend episodes, water and sand play, and some sensory art materials. Don’t forget about books and reading to your child through all of the stages and ages.
Parents of infants and toddlers must also provide a safe environment where children can play. An infant or toddler environment should say “Come and play,” and not be a big “No!” This is where “childproofing” your home will come into play. Childproofing will make the environment a positive experience for your child.
Put away fragile items and plants that you don’t want your baby to touch or play with. While your children do need to learn social rules such as keeping their feet on floors and not crawling on tables. These social rules will come later. For now, focus on positive play opportunities. Limit the time infants and toddlers spend in seats and playpens.
Babies need to be on the floor developing upper body strength as they push up and crawl and explore!
Don’t limit play to only one room; have toys and books in the rooms where you spend the most time together as a family, being sure to turn off the television during playtime. Babies need real experiences, and the television could distract both of you from quality playtime together.
In particular, since many families spend a lot of time in the kitchen, make sure that your baby can play there, too. Lock all lower cupboards that contain glass, cleaning materials, and poisons.
Be sure to provide your child with a special drawer full of plastic containers and wooden spoons that they can explore and play with. Allow your child to also play with the canned goods, pots, and pans. Your child will love to pretend it’s a grocery store and pretend to cook you dinner.
For the older toddler, you can fill a drawer in the kitchen with all kinds of paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, playdough, and glue so that when you are preparing meals you can be playing with your child, too.
The value of play in a child’s development is well documented by research. Play is necessary for healthy development and learning. Now that we’ve shared some ways your baby and toddler can learn through play, we ask, “have you been doing any of these things?” If not, please use our guide as a resource to start encouraging your baby and toddler to learn through play regularly.
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Want to connect with people who can help during this stage in parenthood? If yes, you may want to join our Parent Advisor private Facebook group and Read more blogs at Parent Advisor and The Buzz. If you’re interested in starting a preschool to boost your child’s learning through play then purchase PA Digital Preschool today!
